WASHINGTON, DC - The National Education Association (NEA) has released its annual report on public school teachers' salaries within each state. The average U.S. teacher salary for 1995-96 was $37,685, up 3% from 1994-95.

On releasing the statistics, the NEA announced that public school teachers' salaries are "barely keeping up with inflation."

"The salary for teachers is troubling," lamented NEA President Bob Chase in a press release accompanying the report. "Teaching is an emotionally, physically, and intellectually challenging career that today garners too little respect and low pay relative to comparable professionals."

However, the NEA report omitted a critical factor - the number of workdays per year - that dispels Chase's assertion that teachers' pay is low "relative to comparable professionals."

Teachers work approximately 185 days per year, while other professionals work approximately 235 days per year (365 days per year less weekends, 3 weeks vacation, and 11 holidays). A professional with an annual salary of $37,000 earns $157.45 per workday, whereas a teacher with the same salary collects $200 per workday. The "low pay" that Chase laments is actually greater per day of work than that of the majority of U.S. workers.

Although teachers may spend extra time at home grading papers or supervising extracurricular activities, other professionals also spend many uncompensated hours of personal time on their careers. Also, most teachers' union contracts typically cap teachers' weekly work hours between 37 and 39 hours.

If making more money is the goal, teachers should go to work for the NEA. NEA staff members in Washington, D.C. earned an average salary of $68,346 during 1994-95, with 126 of the 608 employees making over $100,000. The NEA has a $41.6 million payroll.

Public School Teachers' Average Salaries1995-96 School Year

1.

Connecticut

$ 50,254

2.

Alaska

49,620

*

3.

New York

48,115

4.

New Jersey

47,910

5.

Pennsylvania

46,087

6.

Michigan

44,796

*

7.

Dist. of Columbia

43,700

8.

California

43,114

*

9.

Massachusetts

42,882

10.

Rhode Island

42,160

*

11.

Maryland

41,215

12.

Illinois

40,919

13.

Delaware

40,533

14.

Oregon

39,575

15.

Wisconsin

38,182

16.

Washington

38,025

17.

Ohio

37,835

18.

Indiana

37,677

19.

Minnesota

36,937

*

20.

Vermont

36,295

21.

Nevada

36,167

22.

Hawaii

35,807

23.

New Hampshire

35,792

24.

Colorado

35,364

25.

Kansas

35,134

26.

Virginia

35,037

27.

Georgia

34,087

28.

Missouri

33,341

29.

Florida

33,330

30.

Tennessee

33,126

31.

Kentucky

33,080

32.

Maine

32,869

33.

Arizona

32,484

*

34.

Iowa

32,372

35.

West Virginia

32,155

36.

Texas

32,000

37.

South Carolina

31,622

38.

Wyoming

31,571

39.

Nebraska

31,496

40.

Alabama

31,313

41.

Idaho

30,891

42.

Utah

30,588

43.

North Carolina

30,411

44.

New Mexico

29,632

45.

Montana

29,364

46.

Arkansas

29,322

47.

Oklahoma

28,404

48.

Mississippi

27,692

49.

North Dakota

26,969

50.

Louisiana

26,800

51.

South Dakota

26,346

United States Avg.

37,685

Source: National Education Association

* Estimates

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